Improved washing-machine



UNI'IHD STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

NOAH DREW, OF HOWELL, MICHIGAN'.

IMPROVED WASHING-MAOHlNE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 59,195, (lated October 30, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NOAH DREW, of Howell, in the county of Livingston and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements on Washing-Machines 5 and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation ofthe same, reference bein ghad to the annexed drawings, making a part of this speci- `cation, in which- Figure l is a perspective view. longitudinal vertical section.

Similarlctters of reference indicate like parts in both figures.

The nature of my invention consists in the employment of two or more plungers, which are fastened rigidly to rods connected with a cranked axle and operated in connection with a molded end board and yielding suds-box, in such manner that the dirt Will be extracted from the clothes by simple pressure, and the clothes turned by such reguiar and easy gradations as to expose successively every part to the action of the plungers with the least possible frictional or wearing effect; and the better to enable others skilled in this branch of mechanical art to construct my invention, I will now proceed to give a detailed description thereof.

My improved washing-machine consists in part of a skeleton-frame, part of the legs, girts, Src., of which are exhibited at A. B represents the suds-box, which, in place of being fastened as usual, is iitted loosely inside the frame, the upper edges of its side boards being furnished with projecting harige-strips b, which overlap and rest upon the upper girts, A. The bottom C of this loose box forms an inclined plane, terminating with a hollow curve formed by bendingor otherwise shaping the end board, or one secured inside of it, as represented at D.

The clothes are placed against this cove- I shaped end-board, and are to be operated on by two or more plungers, E, which are firmly attached to one end of their connecting-rods It, the other ends being jointed'to a cranked axle or shaft, S. I usually guide each plunger in its path by means of partition-strips I attached to the sloping bottdfn of the box.

rIhe plungers may be made of solid blocks,

Fig. 2 is a'f' and their faces shaped by cutting' away, as plainly seen in section, or, which is better, by fastening together boards, the ends of which .are rabbeted so as to form the grooves g when joined, as may be seen by the dotted lines in Fig. 2.v r.Ihese grooves constitute channels to receive and disperse the dirty water as it is being pressed out of the clothes, and it will be seen that when the crank is just passing its highest point the face of the plunger is nearly vertical, and the corners of the stepped face act like triangular corru'gations :against the clothes, which cannot in this condition become entangled or jammed in the grooves; but as the crank descends and the pressure increases the angle of the face of the plunger becomes more acute, and the clothes are twitched round a little, and by the time the crank has reached its lowest point the square ends of the plungersteps are presented, which detaches them freely from contact. This twitching effect on the clothes is much facilitated by the circularshaped end board, (usually covered with sheetzinc,) and is very effective in exposing every portion to the stamping and pressing action of the plungers.

I usually attach an upper board, e, to the plungers, so as to project in front, and which acts partly asa splash-board and partly to keep the upper surface of the clothes well pushed back., but, although useful, I do not regard this appendage as indispensable. Y

F in Fig. 2 represents a cover to confine the steam of the suds and prevent splashing, and this cover, as well as the upper portion of the molded end boards, should be readily detach able for access to the clothes.

As the strokes of my pluri gers are arbitrary and unchangeable, it would be very difficult with a fast box to always adjust a proper quantity of clothes to suit the stroke, and there-` fore I allow the box freedom to move, subject only to the resistance of some suitable spring, which will yield when too many clothes are put in.

A pair of elastic bands, one of which is seen at H, attached to the lower girt of the frame and to the bottom of the box, answers a very good purpose as springs. Should there be too few unwashed clothes left in inishin g, to prop# erly ll the space in front ot all the plun gers, one or more may be detached and the space narrowed by inserting a Wooden block. (not shown) properly shaped and fitted previouslyv for the purpose.

My machine is operated by placing the clothes in the usual hot suds in the box in front of the circular end board. The covers, &c., bein g put in place, the crank-shaft is revolved by turning the outer crank-handle, J, in the direction ot' the arrow, when a combined reciprocating and vibrating motion is conveyed to the pluugers, which press successively against and twitch round the clothes, extracting the dirt therefrom, as previously explained.

I am aware that it is not new of itself to wash clothes by the impact of plungers g but all that I am familiar with operate by either a pendulum motion'or with jointed connections ranged and operated substantially in the mannerl and for the purposes herein specied.

NOAH DREW.

Witnesses:

MICHAEL H. MGMANUS, BERNARD B. SMITH. 

